Ski binding

ABSTRACT

A ski binding in which the toe portion of the ski boot is inserted between a pair of toe pieces extending upwardly from a toe plate mounted on the ski, a U-shaped clamping member having its legs pivoted to the toe pieces for engaging the projecting portion of the boot sole, the clamping member having an extension for engaging a retaining hook pivotally mounted forwardly of the toe pieces and having notched spaced side members for engaging a gripping portion extending forwardly from the clamping member, the gripping member comprising a crimped portion and a widened looped portion for engaging the notches in the retaining hook.

United States Patent [191 Kjellstrom 1 1 Sept. 16, 1975 1 SKI BINDING Alvar Fskil Petrus Kjellstrom, Sollentuna. Sweden 22 Filed: Feb. 13,1974

211 App1.No.:442,129

[75] inventor:

45,030 4/1928 Norway 280/11.35 B

97,023 10/1939 Sweden 280/11.35 B 165,529 2/1934 Switzerland 280/11.35 W

Primary Examiner-David Schonberg Assistant Examiner-Milton L. Smith Attorney, Agent, or FirmEric Y. Munson 1 ABSIRACT A ski binding in which the toe portion of the ski boot is inserted between a pair of toe pieces extending upwardly from a toe plate mounted on the ski, a U- shaped clamping member having its legs pivoted to the toe pieces for engaging the projecting portion of the boot sole, the clamping member having an extension for engaging a retaining hook pivotally mounted forwardly of the toe pieces and having notched spaced side members for engaging a gripping portion extending forwardly from the clamping member, the gripping member comprising a crimped portion and a widened looped portion for engaging the notches in the retaining hook.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures SKI BINDING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a ski binding of the toe binding type, having a wire clip resiliently mounted in a toe iron and a pivotable retaining hook, said wire clip having a gripping portion which extends beyond said retainer hook. A ski binding of this type is known, for example, from the Norwegian Lay-out print 125 713. With the known construction, the wire clip is extended to a position in front of the retaining hook to facilitate tightening of the binding and, at the same time, to protect the hook from damage by impact. The wire clip is provided with a cross-bar arranged to co-act with the retaining hook. The disadvantage with this type of ski binding is that fastening of the ski is impaired when the wire clip is subjected to oblique acting loads, due to the uneven thickness of the rim of the sole. Furthermore, with the known construction the wire clip must be made of a relatively robust material, resulting in a heavy clip, which is to disadvantage when the binding is to be used for ski races. Furthermore, it is not possible with the known construction to tighten and release the binding by means of a ski pole, which is desirable for touring skiers etc.

A further disadvantage with the known ski binding is that the binding will loosen between the retaining hook and the wire clip, causing the shoe of the skier to loosen from the toe iron, if the wire clip should inadvertently be pressed downwardly or the retaining hook forced away from said structure. It will be readily understood such inadvertent displacement of the wireclip or the retaining hook can easily occur at the starting area crowded with skiiers waiting for a common start, if a competitor should inadvertently strike the wire clip or the retaining hook with the tip of his or her ski pole.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to substantially eliminate or at least minimize the aforementioned disadvantages. This object is achieved by means of the ski binding according to the invention, which is primarily characterized by the fact that the two legs of a substantially U-shaped wire clip are bent in towards each other behind the retaining hook, so that a portion of each leg is directed inwardly towards the central plane of the binding and is designed to engage a notch in the retaining hook. Furthermore the retaining hook has the form of a double-hook having spaced side members for engaging the respective legs of the wire clip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of the ski binding according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a horizontal view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a side view of a second embodiment of the ski binding according to the invention,

FIG. 4 is the horizontal view of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a side view of a variation of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and

FIG. 6 is a horizontal view of the variation shown in FIG. 5.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a toe iron 10 and a resilient wire clip 12 pivotally mounted on a side support member 11 of the toe iron 10. A retaining hook 13 having notches arranged therein is pivotally mounted in an extension forward of the toe iron. The toe iron is provided in a conventional manner with three screw holes 14 and three spikes 15 arranged to engage holes in the shoe sole.

A gripping portion 16 in the form of an extension of the wire clip 12 is located in front of the retaining hook I3, i.e., to the left of the hook as seen in FIG. 1. Behind the retaining hook the wire clip is bent inwardly from both sides, so that one portion 17 of the clip extends inwardly towards the central plane of the binding to coact with the retaining hook I3. The hook 13 is a socalled double-sided. hook, i.e., has two generally parallel side walls 18, each of which is arranged to hook firmly around its associated clip portion 17.

The expedient of providing a hook with two side members so that each side member engages its respective half of the wire clip affords a better clamping action, even when the wire clip is subjected to oblique loads. Furthermore, with a ski binding constructed in accordance with the present invention, the wire clip can be made of. a weaker material than previously known ski bindings, thereby providing a lighter binding which is important in the case of ski racing bindings.

I The construction of the ski binding according to the invention also enables the binding to be readily released by means of a ski pole. When wishing to release the binding, the tip of a ski pole may be inserted between the walls of the retaining hook and the hook pushed forwards.

With the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the clip portion 17 extends at right angles inwardly towards the central plane of the binding. These portions, however, may extend to form an angle less than to said central plane. In the latter case, the retaining hook is given a more V-shaped cross section, so that the walls of the hook are generally perpendicular to the portions in question.

With the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the retaining hook and the wire clip have been modified to enable the binding to be tightened with the tip of a ski pole. In FIGS. 3 and 4 the retaining hook is identified by the references 13' and has an extension 19 which is of sufficient length to enable the hook to remain in engagement with the clip while loosening the binding. Arranged on the gripping portion I6 of the wire clip is a plate 20, which is connected thereto by means of a snap joint, for example, so that said plate can readily be removed. The rear edge of the plate 20 is located at a distance from the hook [3 sufficient to provide enough space for the hook to pivot forwards, to permit the portion 17 to pass out of engagement with the notch in the hook; the space is not sufficient, however, to permit the extended rear portion of the portion 19 to pass free of the clip. The plate 20 is conveniently provided with a recess 21. When the binding is to be tightened, the tip of a ski pole may be pressed against the recess 21 and the clip forced down until a notch in the retaining hook engages the clip.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a modification of the embodiment shown in FIGS. I and 2. In the modification shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 a helical spring 23 is provided between the two sides 18 of the double-sided hook l3 and is wound on the shaft 22 on which the hook is journalled. One leg 24 of the spring 23 is bent at one end to an angle of approximately 90 and is arranged to resiliently abut the vertical front edge of the toe iron 10, while the other leg 25 of the spring is bent at the end thereof upwardly to an angle which is slightly less than 90 and is arranged to resiliently abut the substantially vertical portion of the retaining hook 13 located at right angles to the long axis of the binding. The spring 23 is thus pre-tensioned to a certain degree and urges the retaining hook 13 towards the two legs [7 of the clip 12, and hence the hook cannot be swung counterclockwise by the legs 17 to disengage the hook from the clip should the gripping portion 16 be pressed downwards. When the binding is to be released, the tip of a ski pole, for example, can be inserted between the sides 18 of the retaining hook and the hook forced forwards.

Instead of the helical spring 23, a leaf spring can be used one end of which is attached to the front portion of the toe iron and the lower end of which is arranged to abut the retaining hook I? in a manner to urge said hook clockwise in FIG. 5. Alternatively, the spring may be in the form ofa rubber block or the like mounted in the horizontal extension of the toe iron 10 and arranged to press against the underside of the retaining hook 13, to urge the same clockwise in FIG. 5.

I claim:

1. A ski binding for clamping the toe portion of the sole of a ski boot firmly to the ski and permitting easy release thereof, comprising a. a plate member anchored to the upper face of the ski;

b. side members extending upwardly from said plate member and profiled to engage the sides of the boot sole;

c. a hook member having a substantially U-shaped cross section, pivoted to said plate member centrally relative to said side members and at a prede termined spaced distance forwardly therefrom;

d. the legs of said hook member being provided with notches facing said toe portion;

e. a substantially U-shaped resilient clamping member the legs of which being pivoted to said side members and bent inwardly to overlie a protruding portion of the sides and toe of the boot sole;

f. said legs being crimped together to form a central waist portion aligned with said hook member and dimensioned to extend from the toe of the sole to said hook member and being bent outwardly in opposite directions from said waist portion to form laterally extending leg members for engaging the notches of the respective facing legs of the hook member, and a bight portion so dimensioned as to permit the pivotal movement of said hook member therewithin.

2. A ski binding according to claim 1, in which the hook member is provided with a projection above its uppermost notch, and said clamping member being provided with a plate effective to limit the pivotal movement of the hook member to retain the same within said bight, said plate also providing engagement means for the tip of a ski pole.

3. A ski binding according to claim 2, wherein the plate is provided with a snap-on catch for engagement with the bight portion, and with a recess receiving the tip of a ski pole.

4. A ski binding according to claim 1, in which the hook member is resiliently urged into engagement with said outwardly extending leg members;

5. A ski binding according to claim 4, in which the hook member is pivoted to a horizontally extending shaft located in the forward portion of the plate member and a helical spring arranged around said shaft.

6. A ski binding according to claim 4, in which one end of a leaf spring is attached to the plate, the other end thereof being arranged to resiliently abut the retaining hook opposite said notch.

t t I 

1. A ski binding for clamping the toe portion of the sole of a ski boot firmly to the ski and permitting easy release thereof, comprising a. a plate member anchored to the upper face of the ski; b. side members extending upwardly from said plate member and profiled to engage the sides of the boot sole; c. a hook member having a substantially U-shaped cross section, pivoted to said plate member centrally relative to said side members and at a predetermined spaced distance forwardly therefrom; d. the legs of said hook member being provided with notches facing said toe portion; e. a substantially U-shaped resilient clamping member the legs of which being pivoted to said side members and bent inwardly to overlie a protruding portion of the sides and toe of the boot sole; f. said legs being crimped together to form a central waist portion aligned with said hook member and dimensioned to extend from the toe of the sole to said hook member and being bent outwardly in opposite directions from said waist portion to form laterally extending leg members for engaging the notches of the respective facing legs of the hook member, and a bight portion so dimensioned as to permit the pivotal movement of said hook member therewithin.
 2. A ski binding according to claim 1, in which the hook member is provided with a projection above its uppermost notch, and said clamping member being provided with a plate effective to limit the pivotal movement of the hook member to retain the same within said bight, said plate also providing engagement means for the tip of a ski pole.
 3. A ski binding according to claim 2, wherein the plate is provided with a snap-on catch for engagement with the bight portion, and with a recess receiving the tip of a ski pole.
 4. A ski binding according to claim 1, in which the hook member is resiliently urged into engagement with said outwardly extending leg members;
 5. A ski binding according to claim 4, in which the hook member is pivoted to a horizontally extending shaft located in the forward portion of the plate member and a helical spring arranged around said shaft.
 6. A ski binding according to claim 4, in which one end of a leaf spring is attached to the plate, the other end thereof being arranged to resiliently abut the retaining hook opposite said notch. 